BC Consumers have 2nd Highest Debt Rate in Canada

Consumers in British Columbia are now carrying staggering levels of Debt, 2nd highest in the Country. As a recent survey by Bank of Montreal discovered, residents of British Columbia are now in second place in the country. However, this is a race where last place is the best place. BC moved into 2nd place from 3rd place in 2013. Accumulating at a rapid rate, with the average resident adding over $20,000.00 to the liability side of their balance sheet. The average resident in BC now carries a staggering average of $99,834.00 of debt. The surprise is that the substantial increase is not due to the high price of housing often associated with the province. Mortgage debt represented only 39%, with the bulk of the debt being associated directly to unsecured credit cards. What is the good news? Based on current Superintendent of Bankruptcy statistics, it appears that the debt is being managed or maintained by the consumers. As British Columbia is not leading the country in bankruptcies or consumer proposals. Nationally BC represents 21% of the Debt but only 10% of the insolvencies. In fact, Quebec, the province with the lowest average debt per resident has the highest level of bankruptcies in the Country.